Google Launches Information Panels to Combat Vaccine ‘Misinformation’

Tech giant Google has announced it is launching information panels that will appear alongside search results in relation to vaccines in an attempt to prevent the spread of misinformation.

The Verge reports that tech giant Google is launching vaccine information panels as part of Google Search in an attempt to counter what it considers misinformation and to educate users about vaccination. The panels will start being displayed in the United Kingdom first, where the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has been approved and is already being administered. Google plans to expand the search panels to other countries as more vaccines are approved.

The information panel will include information on each individual vaccine and aims to address vaccine misinformation. The panels will also give guidance on how, when, and where people can receive the vaccine. Google has previously used information panels to share information about the coronavirus pandemic in general and provided users with the locations of testing centers.

Alongside search results, Google plans to share similar vaccine information via its coronavirus panels on its video-sharing platform YouTube. These panels were launched in March to share information about the pandemic and Google believes that they have been viewed over 400 billion times since their launch.

Google has also been heavily cracking down on anti-vaccination content across YouTube and announced in October that it would be removing videos that specifically contained misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine. A YouTube spokesperson said at the time: “A COVID-19 vaccine may be imminent, therefore we’re ensuring we have the right policies in place to be able to remove misinformation related to a COVID-19 vaccine.”

Google has also announced that it will be providing more funds to help health authorities and the media provide useful information about vaccines to the public. The company plans to give an additional $15 million in ad grants to the World Health Organization to help promote its health initiatives and is spending $1.5 million to support fact-checking research and fund a COVID-19 Vaccine Media Hub.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com